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During the second half of the 18th century, provincial rulers demanded copies of paintings done during the periods of Akbar, Jahangir, and Shah Jahan (mid-16th to mid-17th centuries) for both aesthetic and political reasons. Two album leaves that are copies of earlier pictures are shown here. The musician plays a rudra vina, a plucked instrument on a fretted stick with two gourds. One gourd is a resonance chamber—the other simply lets the instrument stand evenly when not in use. The image is based on a late 16th century model, known in many versions, that depicts the great musician at Akbar's court, Naubat Khan. The musician's concentration on his music is shown in his expressive eyebrows and downcast gaze on a face shown in three-quarter profile. The figure has a four-pointed hem found in Akbari painting (third quarter of the 16th century) as well as a belt (patka) with a loop so that the wearer could control the length, also a male fashion that came into being in the later 16th century. The turban is the also Akbari style, small and tightly wrapped high on the head. The flattened body, with the player's girth swung into view, betrays 18th century taste.
This depicts the comic character Mullah Dopiaza. The Mullah, a courtier favored by Akbar, became a legend. He is shown firmly planted on the back of an emaciated horse, looking much like Don Quixote. The animal, beleaguered by his inflated load and lack of food, suffers yet another insult from the bird that heckles him. The image plays with meanings drawn from Sufi art and poetry, where a bone-thin horse is used to portray the inevitable decay of the body, and a rider takes the part of the soul. << Back Explore the Paintings Next >>
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